BOILING SPRINGS – You almost couldn’t imagine this 2012-13 Gardner-Webb men’s basketball team playing a game any other way.

Down by 15 points seven minutes into the second half, the Runnin’ Bulldogs came roaring back to tie Eastern Kentucky but then went cold in the final two minutes and dropped a 69-62 decision to the Colonels at Paul Porter Arena Tuesday night.

The win allowed EKU (24-7) to move on in the College Insiders Tournament while GWU closed out a 21-13 campaign.

“This game was a microcosm of our season,” GWU head coach Chris Holtmann said afterwards. “Our guys just kept coming and coming (back). And that might be have been against the best Division I team we’ve had come play at our court since I’ve been here.

“I’ve never been more proud of a team. They were special in so many ways. They’ve given us a real launching point for the future and raised expectations.”

GWU ran into an Ohio Valley Conference squad that relied on two things – firing from three-point range and creating turnovers on the other end of the floor.

After Gardner-Webb trailed 34-31 at the half, the Colonels sprinted to a 52-37 lead by the 12:57 mark largely due to those turnovers.

“At every timeout we told them we had to chip away, chip away,” said Holtmann.

It worked as GWU’s own defensive intensity opened the door.

“It started on the defensive end,” said ‘Dogs senior Kevin Hartley. “We got some steals and got out in transition.”

GWU finally pulled even at 60 when Jerome Hill hit a pair of foul shots with 2:54 to go. Hill tied the game again at 62 with 1:44 left but a missed free throw gave EKU possession.

The Colonels ran the shot clock down then EKU’s Corey Walden banked in a well-defended three with 1:05 to play. GWU couldn’t convert on the other end and Eastern put it away at the foul line in the final seconds.

“I was really proud of the way our guys played,” said Eastern coach Jeff Neubauer. “Even though we’ve won 25, we had not played in many close games this year and this was really a one-possession game. Chris’ team had played in so many more of those.”

Walden and Glenn Cosey, who hit a combined 10-for-13 from three-point range, led EKU with 26 and 22 points, respectively.

The numbers didn’t lie: Entering the contest, Eastern Kentucky was sixth in the nation in turnovers forced while Gardner-Webb led the Big South Conference in that category and was rated No. 2.

So the 42 turnovers (22 by GWU, 20 from EKU) wasn’t an aberration.

“It’s what they do,” said GWU head coach Chris Holtman. “They’re really god at it. We were able to exploit their gambles at times.”

Firing away: Eastern launched 26 treys in the game, many from several steps beyond the three-point line.

“We recruit shooters,” said EKU head coach Jeff Neubauer. “This is one of our more average three-point shooting teams, hitting about eight a game. Twice in my eight years here we’ve led the nation hitting 10 a game. It’s a big part of what we do.”

GWU senior Tashan Newsome said “it puts a lot more pressure on you (defensively), the way they spread you out, but it was nothing we hadn’t seen.”

First time: The College Insiders Tournament game at Paul Porter Arena marked the first postseason game of any kind for Gardner-Webb since becoming an official NCAA Division I member.

Likewise for Eastern Kentucky, the victory was the first by the Colonels in the history of their program.